TRPG General Chat

Akixkisu

12:00 AM

5e has a bunch of bad clause-bound indexicals.

trogdor

If i don't know those things it does indeed make the game worse for me

Medix2

@BESW 5e said: "Let the GM define things, we aren't going to"

Mark Wells

Yeah, I'm fine with it. It lets me play to find out what happens.

Medix2

I think a large chunk of the "problems" with 5e and its definitions comes from the fact that a good number of TTRPG players look for rigid definitions, which this system simply does not provide

Akixkisu

@Medix2 it is inconsistent about supplying them.

Mark Wells

12:02 AM

If I'm going to plan something or make a decision, I have to rely on what I know about the world, not what I know about the mechanics.

BESW

@Medix2 I love several games which revolve around that principle; but 5e is not one of them, its system is not designed to support the principle. Its words and its structures are not in harmony.

Akixkisu

I feel the same, I play it anyway.

BESW

Sure. I'm not saying people shouldn't play it?

Akixkisu

You didn't.

5e is bad at that, but it is very easy to get people to play dnd instead of other games that do that aspect better.

Mark Wells

@BESW You didn't, but you're implying that this is a bad design choice. I choose to express my disagreement.

Helwar

12:16 AM

I think 5e went towards "simple", and did mostly right by it but sometimes it lacks definition in mechanics. As this "healing" example showed us

it's not bashing the game, it's more like recognizing it's flaws

nothing is perfect

KorvinStarmast

Yeah, 5e did some good stuff. And then it screwed up Four Elements Monk. (Massive Arrggghh is now heard).

Akixkisu

Honestly the whole concept of classes belongs into a trash can.

KorvinStarmast

@Akixkisu Diablo CRPG (the original) tried to go classless when they first stared the game design, and in the end, it did not work.

And they ended up with a fine dungeon crawl.

Hot RPG Questions

2

Q: Does the Haste Spell give +1 BAB or only +1 attack roll?

So, the haste spells would give a character +1 extra attack and..... +1 bonus on attack roll. Could that be considered BAB or it is just an attack roll bonus? Example: A level 5 Barbarian (+5 BAB), after being hasted, would have 6 BAB or +5 BAB and +1 bonus attack roll?

Akixkisu

Getting specialisation just right isn't easy.

In that regard I feel like DnD is permanently broken due to its history and what people expect.

nitsua60

12:31 AM

What's the word I'm looking for?

Something repulsively evil.

Akixkisu

Avocado.

nvm.

nitsua60

Like lampshade of human skin, evil.

Someone_Evil

Villainous?

nitsua60

Adjective.

@Someone_Evil Maybe. Heinous, but even worser.

Glazius

@nitsua60 Repugnant?

Miniman

12:33 AM

Abhorrent?

nitsua60

Abhorrent's what I was looking for.

I kept thinking "abominable," but that wasn't quite it.

Someone_Evil

Dare I ask why you needed the word?

Miniman

Vile, atrocious?

Whoops, nvm.

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 irredeemable also

Akixkisu

des-pi-kuh-buhl lets you spit your contempt against whatever abhors you.

KorvinStarmast

12:41 AM

@Akixkisu I don't know why this is, but abhorrent makes me think of bittorrent.

nitsua60

@Someone_Evil I'm species-averse to the phrase "wolf in sheep's clothing," and wanted a way to characterize it.

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 How about "troll in mod's clothing" as a substitute? 8^D

Akixkisu

@KorvinStarmast accurate.

Someone_Evil

@nitsua60 Ah, that might well be one of the funniest footnotes on the site

Miniman

@nitsua60 "Minimanish"

KorvinStarmast

12:42 AM

@Akixkisu fair point

trogdor

@Miniman lol

Someone_Evil

@Miniman Hmm... I can't really do that with my username :(

nitsua60

@Someone_Evil I try. I can't remember any of the others right now, but <sup> tags make me feel like I can let down my... wool.

Miniman

@Someone_Evil I mean, except insofar as you did when you chose it.

Jeffrey Witty

Hello, I wanted to introduce myself, I'm Jeff. It seems some of you may know of me due to my recent activity

I thought I would thank everyone personally via chat

Someone_Evil

12:46 AM

@JeffreyWitty Hya, welcome to the den

Wait, I think "lair" is the traditional term, but who's counting?

Jeffrey Witty

I am fairly new here, but hope to be a decent contributor

My recent "foot in mouth" event has led me to a rare "live type" appearance

anyhow, thanks to everyone, I'll do going to review some more questions.

Rubiksmoose

@JeffreyWitty Hi! And don't worry about it. We all have our unique things to learn when we joing the site and we all stumble on this or that. You're all good and you did exactly the right thing. We're here to help, so if you ever have issues, talk to the community and/or the diamond moderators and we'll do our best to sort it out. :)

I'm really happy that everything was able to be sorted out on all sides.

And I'm happy to have you on the site!

KorvinStarmast

@JeffreyWitty Hello Jeff! Glad to see you here! :)

Helwar

I caught the whole thing when it was already solved but It looked like it was managed all right so as Rubiksmoose says, don't sweat it. Nuance is lost in text form.

BESW

[wave] Welcome to the site, and to the General Chat room!

Adeptus

1:01 AM

Hi! There's only a small group of us in chat, so we're not "everyone" as far as the Stack goes. Many people never come to chat. (others are here all the time)

trogdor

Lol

BESW

Ooof don't click on that spam link, massive content warnings.

KorvinStarmast

@BESW o/ hail. as I block the smoke detector announcements, I have the advantage of not even having a link to mistakenly click on.

trogdor

Oh my God just that username X'(

Wtf

KorvinStarmast

@trogdor not cool usernames are a long time internet habit ...

trogdor

1:11 AM

I'm aware of that

BESW

→ 1 message moved to Trash

KorvinStarmast

we thank our local janitorial staff for their never ending efforts ....

BESW

It doesn't need to sit here for everyone to see, I've trashed it.

trogdor

It's still pretty bad regardless

Thanks

KorvinStarmast

@trogdor aye, and the unfortunate part is that whomever chose it probably thought that they were being funny

Helwar

1:21 AM

It might be because I'm oblivious but... what was bad about it?

it's wooshing over my head

OHHHHH

I just saw

no need to explain

ugh

MikeQ

So anyway, in yesterday's game, there was a rough combat where my character (a low level cleric) got separated and ended up near the enemy boss. My cleric does not fare well in 1v1, so they fled.

illustro

@kviiri I don't really see how it can be a natural reading given you are ignoring the more general rule of casting a spell from a magic item (which you are most certainly doing with a spell scroll) which says no components are required. The spell scroll item doesn't add any components back in, or say "somatic and verbal components are required). I didn't want to pollute Medix2's answer with pings from replies, but I'm genuinely confused.

Hot RPG Questions

12

Q: Do Owlbears hibernate?

Do Owlbears hibernate like bears or stay active all winter like owls? Even the full page description of Owlbears in the AD&D 2nd Edition Monstrous Manual is silent on this topic. I don't have back issues of Dragon Magazine available so I'm unsure if hibernation was ever discussed. The campaign I ...

monsters dungeons-and-dragons lore animals

MikeQ

Luckily, the cleric found a bunch of beaten and near-unconscious prisoners. They would have been useless, however, they are living creatures, and my cleric can channel positive energy and break ropes.

KorvinStarmast

@MikeQ Live to fight another day. well done

MikeQ

1:26 AM

And that's the story of how I summoned a team of vengeful paladins.

KorvinStarmast

snort now that sounds like fun

How did the boss feel about this?

MikeQ

He felt nothing for a while, since my cleric has been relying on Calm Emotions. Then he felt stabbed by several Smite Evil effects. Then he died and felt nothing again.

KorvinStarmast

@MikeQ lovely symmetry there; I hope the loot was also symmetrical

MikeQ

No loot, sadly. The way Iron Gods is written, encounters give either worthless unusable junk, or a pile of complicated and valuable sci-fi gadgets.

kent

This feels like an embarrassing question but what is the difference between an Aasimar and a divine soul sorcerer

MikeQ

1:37 AM

Aasimar is a race of humanoids who have some celestial heritage. Sorcerer is a class (could be any race) and their magical sorcerous power comes from a divine source, which lets them learn spells from the cleric spell list.

illustro

Aasimar: They are descended from humans with a touch of the power of Mount Celestia, the divine realm of many lawful good deities. Aasimar are born to serve as champions of the gods, their births hailed as blessed events.

kent

But like they both have divine lineage

illustro

Divine Soul Sorcerer: Sometimes the spark of magic that fuels a sorcerer comes from a divine source that glimmers within the soul. Having such a blessed soul is a sign that your innate magic might come from a distant but powerful familial connection to a divine being. Perhaps your ancestor was an angel, transformed into a mortal and sent to fight in a god’s name. Or your birth might align with an ancient prophecy, marking you as a servant of the gods or a chosen vessel of divine magic.

kent

Is there any lore on why you become one or the other

MikeQ

Possibly? Divine Soul don't need to have divine ancestors. A random goblin could be blessed at birth and that could make them a Divine Soul sorcerer. A random aasimar could be a fighter or wizard.

Similarly, see the difference between Dragonborn (the race) and Draconic Bloodline (the sorcerer subclass)

illustro

1:40 AM

An Aasimar requires a divine lineage (specifically). A divine soul sorcerer does not (they are explicitly called out as having the potential to be made by chance due to their birth aligning with an ancient prophecy.)

kent

Correct. But in the instance both have divine lineage is there any reason why one happened and not the other

Like are Aasimar more likely to be divine soul sorcerers

illustro

Aasimar also require a human lineage somewhere in their ancestry

MikeQ

Aasimar can be whatever class they want. Given their +2 Charisma adjustment, they're a decent choice for a Divine Soul sorcerer, but they're equally a decent choice for Draconic sorcerer or Shadow Magic sorcerer.

illustro

Divine Soul Sorcerers do not, they can be Elves with some Angel lineage in them

It would certainly make sense story wise for an Aasimar to also be a Divine Soul Sorcerer, but they aren't required to be

kent

It's not about requirements. I'm asking why does one happen over the other in lore

Say you have human and angelic lineage. Under both descriptions you could be an Aasimar or a sorcerer, or both.

MikeQ

1:44 AM

No, we just said the opposite of that.

kent

?

illustro

If you are a human with angelic lineage, then you are an Aasimar

kent

Except not in Volos

BESW

D&D's a kitchen sink of "sure that sounds cool, throw it in" and doesn't put much if any energy into justifying how they all co-exist.

kent

It can skip generations

In Volos you could be an Aasimar but your parents are not

MikeQ

1:47 AM

I dunno. Genetics don't make sense in a universe where magic exists.

kent

@BESW I guess you're right.

nitsua60

@JeffreyWitty I don't even think it was a foot in mouth, personally.

On another note: how do you spell that thing when you have your teeth closed, you relax your cheeks and lips, keep your tongue low, exhale, and everything forward of your molars just flaps around erratically?

MikeQ

Sshhhwwwooo

nitsua60

Thbbbbbbbbt would be a raspberry, and this is _________ ?

Maybe Thbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbtbt?

illustro

@nitsua60 english.stackexchange.com/questions/393204/…

you mean that?

MikeQ

1:51 AM

@kent If the celestial attributes can skip generations, then I suppose there's no guarantee of what the outcome is. Maybe they're an aasimar, maybe they're a divine soul sorcerer. Maybe both, maybe neither.

nitsua60

@illustro Holy [redacted]. This site... really, man. Just: wow.

illustro

@nitsua60 iknr

nitsua60

I'm definitely going with "bilabial trill" over "motorboating," as I'm writing to a superior about a (potential) sexual harrassment situation that's going on =\

illustro

If you need a sound based example...the first mp3 from this site: soundsnap.com/tags/lip_flapping

...ah

a sound based answer may not be so appropriate then

BESW

Oof yeah, that's a bilabial trill then.

kent

1:55 AM

@MikeQ I get the feeling that most Aasimar being born from human parents was new 5e lore? In the past Aasimar were descended from other Aasimar?

illustro

But yes, bilabial trill is definitely more appropriate in that situation

...oh dear

It's 2am...bed time!

Akixkisu

@BESW yup.

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 arrgh, those are never fun ....

MikeQ

@kent Aasimar were described as having a celestial bloodline. So one of their parents could be a celestial, or an aasimar, or a human, or goblin, as long as they also descended from something celestial.

BESW

3.5, with its dedication to Symmetry For The Sake of Symmetry, had both tieflings and aasimars as humanoids whose ancestry contained a very distant infernal/celestial ancestor, the influence of which was imperceptible in most descendants but would occasionally manifest visibly in one person--that person would be an aasimar or a tiefling.

KorvinStarmast

2:00 AM

@BESW recessive trait?

BESW

4e, in its dedication to throwing out alignment-based mechanics, didn't really do anything with aasimar at all but presented tieflings as the descendants of a small group of humans who had made a multigenerational warlock pact.

kent

Well that has got to suck for Aasimar. The influence could have manifested as spellcasting abilities. But all they got was glowy eyes

BESW

I'd hesitate to use any terms associated with genetics to describe D&D's use of inherited traits. That's one reason I liked 4e's approach to the tiefling; it wasn't a physically passed down trait, it was a sign of a supernaturally inherited relationship.

nitsua60

@KorvinStarmast Yeah... luckily it's only the second time in my career I've had to deal with this. Unfortunately, it's... well, it exists.

KorvinStarmast

@BESW ok, cool, good point I'd hesitate to use any terms associated with genetics to describe D&D's use of inherited traits

BESW

2:05 AM

@kent Heh. In 3.5, being an aasimar got you elemental resistance, bonus attribute bumps, perception advantages, and a 1/day use of the daylight spell.

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 yeah, another thing we have to deal with, and hopefully your organization has good tools for that ...

nitsua60

@KorvinStarmast Well... a recently retiring mentor of mine said "don't expect $PLACE to ever abandon it's commitment to a strategy of 'blind luck' when it's worked so well for so long." So I'm not holding my breath on there being a good system, rather than an ad-hocracy, to deal with anything =\

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 Nice neologism "adhocracy" - I am adding that to my governmental forms file ...

Example Adhocracy ... your majesty, whence the decree that each peasant shall be issued a single pink bunny rabbit slipper ? to which the answer is "it seemed to us like a good idea, at the time... And the pink lemonade at last year's fete was a success"

kent

@BESW true. And when you consider the low proportion of level 20 spellcasters its not as bad.

KorvinStarmast

I am watching my salt marsh campaign die thanks to the death of a thousand RL cuts to my players ... sigh

Ben

2:11 AM

Afternoon all

MikeQ

G'day! Haven't heard from you in a while, was worried you'd been kidnapped by drop bears.

KorvinStarmast

@Ben Hail, wizard of Aus!

MikeQ

@KorvinStarmast Have you considered making it West Marches style, and run games with whoever attends?

Ben

@KorvinStarmast Well, not exactly a wizard; but that depends on your level of I.T knowledge. To some I'm a wizard, I suppose :P

KorvinStarmast

@MikeQ I can, but that means I need to recruit more players and make each session a bit easier to end ... but they all wanted to do the salt marsh thing when we all decided for me to DM. Wen we run with whomever shows up as it is ...

nitsua60

2:13 AM

Could run it "Stomach Lurches" style: set it all on the boat that you've certainly obtained by now and go with the headcanon that any player who's not there, their PC is at the rail.

Ben

@MikeQ Nah, after all the rain they've temporarily retreated to better feeding grounds. When it rains less people come outside

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 my son had to drop out due to shift changes at work,

@nitsua60 as a point of fact, tonight they are poised to hit the pirate/smuggler ship ...

Ben

@nitsua60 Our 40K game was a little bit like that: we all worked for an Inquisitor, and so when someone couldn't attend, they were brought in for "another job"

MikeQ

And if a player doesn't show up, well, their character goes on a side mission, possibly in an uncharted part of the dungeon. When they next return, they'll have gained some loot and experience.

KorvinStarmast

@MikeQ our convention is all pc's are 'passively present' ... we worked out a deal for how that fits ...

.... unlike our ToA campaign, the players do not seem to have someone who likes to keep the journal, and I just stopped doing it as DM. I would post a page, brief summary, and "fill in your PoV on how it went" some inputs, but not all that much

Hot RPG Questions

2:26 AM

9

Q: Do you need to provide Somatic Components when casting from a spell scroll?

The general rules provided in the DMG for Magic Item Scrolls states: Most scrolls are spells stored in written form, [...]. [...] [...] Whatever the nature of the magic contained in a scroll, unleashing the magic requires the user to read the scroll. [...] Unless a scroll's des...

dnd-5e spells spell-components

Ben

2:41 AM

What's a low CR, very aggressive monster?

or "angry"

NautArch

Mephits?

MikeQ

Commoners?

Ben

@MikeQ Lol

I like mephit

MikeQ

Commoners who can access the youtube comment section?

nitsua60

@Ben Once the baby's learned to crawl and pull up, but not walk...?

Ben

2:46 AM

@nitsua60 A 3 year old

nitsua60

The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger (original narration by Randall)

►

BESW

@Ben 5e, right? Does 5e have fell taints?

Fell taints are very low-level emanations from the Far Realm which heal to full if they successfully perform a coup de grace.

It's mean.

Ben

I like mephit cos they seem small and pop when they die :P

Adeptus

For anyone who likes chainmail things, Firebear Armoury has 20% off at the moment

(note they are located in Australia, so shipping may be high for those of you who are elsewhere)

nitsua60

3:03 AM

I don't know why Youtube decided that after the honeybadger video I'd want to see an old Celebrity Jeopardy video.

But they weren't wrong.

Mark Wells

3:19 AM

@MikeQ Those are known as trolls, and they are CR 5.

Bob Kerman

3:38 AM

@Adeptus they currently dont have any armour for sale :(.

but they do have this for the office; firebear.com.au/store/p285/…

Joel Harmon

4:02 AM

@MarkWells Don't forget the lower CR but less aggressive Whelp Trolls. They hang around regular trolls saying "Whelp, that's just a troll."

Adeptus

4:45 AM

@BobKerman There's a smaller market for armour than for jewellery. They stock more of the things that sell more. (you can always buy the links & DIY...)

@BobKerman Brent Spiner (Data) bought one of their plain ties.

Xirema

Just popping in to share the moment our Fighter tried to pickpocket the Cleric.

trogdor

Lol

Powerdork

5:10 AM

Tread carefully with dimensional travel. Eberron has a lot of assumptions that are challenged in other settings; for instance, the provability of gods' existence would rattle any warmblooded citizen of the Five Nations. Consider nonchalantly imposing the Eberron items you want as a part of the setting you want to use them in. If the story you want to tell is a story about planar bootlegging, then question whether Eberron's the best setting to tell it with; whether D&D's the best system to tell it with. — Powerdork 1 min ago

Am I answering in the comments?

Akixkisu

@Powerdork yes.

@Powerdork would also be good to source that, and expand your reasoning.

Hot RPG Questions

5:29 AM

4

Q: If I use the starting wealth rolls of my class, do I keep any remaining money left over?

If I use the starting wealth rolls of my class, do I keep any remaining money left over after I buy equipment? In D&D 5e you can roll the 4d4 × 10 to determine starting gold, forgoing any equipment your class and background gets. This is not up for question. What is up for question is whether...

dnd-5e character-creation treasure

Ben

6:02 AM

Could someone quickly give me a level 1 base attribute levels for 5e? I.e. for Str, Dex, Con, etc. - but don;t worry about which is which or what class. Just need the scores for a primary stat, a dump stat, and all the rest.

Miniman

@Ben 15, 15, 15, 8, 8, 8

Ben

I was thinking more optimised. Lol

Miniman

It doesn't really get any more optimized than that.

If you mean less optimized, I don't remember off the top of my head.

Ben

I did just find this. The grid is an interesting tool

So that one suggests an array of 16, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8

Miniman

You can only get that by rolling, though.